Amendments to the proposition for a modification of the Council Regulation CEE 725-75 concerning the creation of a European Regional Development Fund, following consultation of the European Parliament. COM (82) 572 final, 6 September 1982

COMMISSION

OF

THE

EUROPEAN

COMMUNITIES

COM(82)572 final

Brussels, 6 September 7982

AMENDMENTS TO THE

PROPOSITION FOR A MODIFICATION OF THE COUNCIL REGULATION

CEE 724-75 concerning the creation of a European Regional Development

Fund, following consultation of the European Parliament

(presented by the Commission to the Councif,

pursuant to the second paragraph of article 149 of the EEC treaty)

COIIMUNICATION FROM THE COMI'IISSION TO THE COUNCIL

The European ParLiament,

at 'its

meeting on 22

ApriL

1982, gave

a

favourable op'inion on

the

proposaL

_for

a

Counci L Regulation amending

the

Regulatjon (EEC) _{No 724175 estabLishing}

_a

_{European RegionaL DeveLopment Fund.}

The Commission has agreed

a certain

number

of

amendments voted on that

occasion by

the

ParIiament.

In

consequence,

the

Commission, pursuant

to

ArticLe

149

of

the

EEC Treaty, amends

the

proposaL

for

a

reguLation submitted

to

the

Councit on

"^

1.d*-PREAMBLE AND RECITALS

PreambLe and

first

seven

recitaLs

unchanqed.

After

the

th'ird recitaL,

take

in

the

ner^r

r:citaL

3(a)

"!lhereas such coordination must aLso cover the regionaL cons ces of both nationaL and Communjty economic p_oLiqies and

in

pa|!iguLar gsclqlgl

poLicies;"

After the sixth recitaL, take in the

nstv

rtlcitaL

6(a)

"l,lhereas concentration

of

the

Fundrs resources

in

regjonj; w"i

th

particuLarly

serious structu

.----.:.:-.:.-:--.1-_

of the

objectives

of

Community reqional pot.icy

if

tfrere

is effective

coordination between

the

_LegionaL

F

the other

Commun'ity_funds and f inancia L instruments;"

After the

seventh

recitaL, take in the

neb,

recitaL

7(a)

" blhereas assista

F.rrotecting

the

Level

of

ernpLoyment, particur

Larly

in

the

home regions of

the

workers concerned;"

Compared

with the

text

of

the on 25 October 1981, additions

L i ned.

under-TITLE

I :

_{C00RDINATI0N OF REGIONAL} pOLrcrEs

g

_{3 -}

_paragraph

₃

_becomes

_a

_{net"l paragraph} 3(a)

a neh, paragraph 3(b)

the

regions Located near internaL Communit

frontiers,

_the

g4

-

add

b)

" For

r

States concerned shaIL ensure transfront

ier

coordination

of jonaL development anO

ration

between

the

reqionaL

ano LocaL bodies involvea.

ArticLe 2

S

2

-,,mod'ify as folLows

the

text of

paragraph Z

The Commission, working

in

cIose association r,rith

_the

RegionaL

Po['icy committee, shaLL prepare

_{a periodic}

_{ancl up-to-date report} on

the

situatjon

and socio-economic changes

in

The-7idi6ns or

the

community and on

nationat

regionaI

policies.

To

this

end,

ttlember States shaLL prov'ide

the

Commission

with

the

retevant

information whicf]_s-l-oqld

permit

an anaLysis

to

be made

of

as

far

as possibLe c _{fgb_le econom'ic} regions

or

sub:reqions.

_{TFi s}

reportshaL[bepreparedatregut-aT,@rinterva|s'

with

every

other

report

coincid'ing

with the

examination

of

the

s3

medium-term economic poLicy programmes. 0n

the

basis

of

this

report, the

counc'il,

acting

on

a

proposaL from

the

commission anq

after

consu[ting

the

European _{ParLiament and}

_the

_{Economic and Social}

committee, shaIL adopt

the

regional

poLicy guideLines and

priorities.,,

. modify as foLLows

the text

of

paragraph 3(a)

"Member

_states

_{shaLl communicate}

_to

_the

_commission

_their

_reg.ionaL deveLopment programmes, _{and any amendments}

_thereto,

_for

_the

_regions and areas covered by

a

regionaL State a'id

scheme.

such programmes

shalL be prepared

in

accordance

with

the

joint

outline

drawn up by

the

Economic

Policy

Comm'ittee

(1)

and

in

the

Light

of

the

Commission Recommendation

of

23 May 1979

(z).

They shalL be

indicative

in

nature and

sha[[

specify the objectives

concerned and

the

practicaL measures

to

be

applied.

They shaLL be prepared

in

cLose

;-(retain

_the

_existing

_paragraph

_3).

modify as

fotlows

the

text of

paragraph

₄

_{which becomes paragraph 4(a)} "The commission

is

anaLys'ing

the

regionaL .impact

of

the

main common

poL'icies and essentiaL measures which

it

proposes

_to

_the

counci L.

It is

informing

the

Latter

and tfrglurqps-e-n parLiament

of

the

way

in ..."(retain

the

existingm

TiILE

_!{:

-3-GENERAL PR0vJ-sI0NS RELATLIG _{_T0} TIE_EUruPE{ll_SEG-I0t\lAL DEVELOPMEI\!T FUND

-

anrend as f oL Lows

the

text

of

Ar"t i c Le 3

" _{IlrS__Lg,Jggtion jnd_$g_pl3_y91.!t_9lt-_9lfq9_j-9!e.!*_r:lbgLC_n-r_e,f_e!-d_}

tiie

eLim:nat'i on

of

backwardness

in

the

weak regions must be

---..'--_-T---a11gr1J !l1c qqin gpj_u9lj_uq: ,9f- a L t"

the

common

poL'icies.

The

European negionat pevetopment rund.

hereinbfter

feferr"ed to

asrthe

Fundr,

is

intended

to

cr:nrect

the principaL

imbaLances

w'i

thin

the

Community resuLting'i

n

particuLar from agricuLturaL

preponderance/ industniaL change and structuraL underernpLoyment."

*

_{modify as folLows}

_the

_{text of}

_the

_first

paragraph

of

3(b)

"

specific

Community regionaL deveLopment measures

to

assist

regions

particularLy affected

by:

-

recent and senious

the

effects

_€

certajn

Community poLicies;

serio_us probLems Linl<ed

to

Lhei

r

s'i_tuation l:__[rqn!_!Sr"z

peripheraL

olijrsuLar

regions

g' to

thei

r

depopuLalion.

The ass'istance aLLotted

to

these measures may

not

exceed 20%

of

the

Fund I

s

resources. "

it

ArticLe 3

Art'icLe 4

e 5(b)

ir)

TITLE

III ;

COMI{UNITY IVIEASURES TO ASSIST REGIONS EXPERIENCING ESPECIALLY

SERIOUS STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS

Chapter

1:

GeographicaL scope

Article

6

(i

_{1 -}

_{'insert the}

_{phrase "and}

_after

_consuLting

_the

European ParLiament"

g3

"The

tist of

reg'ions and zones referned

to in

ArticLe 4(3)(a)

may

be revised by

the

CounciL,

acting

by

a

quaLified

majority

on a

proposal from

the

Commission and

after

consuLting

t

Parliament,

inparticular...

.

insert a

new paragraph

3

in

ArticLe

6

"If

lhe

periodi

c

re

in

the

reg'ions shows

that

underdeveLopment

or

decline

in

specific

zones

within

the

confines

of

the

areas

soecified

in

ArticLe 4(3)(a)

as become reLativeLv more

acute, the

Fundrs resources shatL be re-ed accord'i

n

the

ouotas estabLished under Arti c Le 4

above.

Chapter

2

:

0perationaL ruLes

in

Art'icLe

7,

paragraph

2,

the

two foLLowing paragraphs:

-

Infrastructures

to

be financed under investment programmes shaLL

be those

infrastructures

that

contribute

to

the

deveLopment of

the

region

or

the

zone

in

wh'ich they

are

situated.

-

When

fixinq

the

overaLL annuaL endowment

of

the

Fund, the

Commission shaLL take account

gf

the

desirabiLity

of

a

progressive increase

in

the

share

of

resources devoted

to

industrial

craft

and

servi ce 'investments.

-

Investments t"lhich aLso neLate

to

aqricuLturaL infras ruct u

be coordinated

with

the various

structurat

pro _ects nanced b

the

Guidance Section

of

the

EAGGF."

ArticLe E

5

3 -

rnodify as

follows

the

text of

po'ints

(a)

and

(g)

of

paragraph 3

"(a)

expected

resuLts,

where poss'i bLe

in

quantified

form, part'i cuLarLy

where

they

reLatb

to

the

creation

of

jobs";

ArticLe 7

g

_{2 -}

_insert

"

(g) a

statement

of

the

programme may give

environmentaL consequences

to

wh'ich the

rise

and

of

the

measures envisaqed

to

pr.otect

-)-U_ti c Le 9

S

1 -

modify

the

paragraph as fo[lows:

"1.

Programmes

that

might quaLify

for

ass'istance from

the

Fund

sha L L be submi

tted

to

the

Commi s;sion by the Member State 'in

guestion-

They shaLt be drawn up on

the

basis

of

cLose

cooperation between

the

competent

central

al!.

regionaL authorities_."

ArticLe 11

A? _repLace"40

_mittion

_EctJ'by''50

mitlion

_{ECIJ' in paragraph 3.}

I 1 -

replace

the

fjrst

indent by

the

foLLowing

text:

"In

the case

of

jnvestment

projects

in

industry, the

craft

sector

or

the

services

sector, the

amount

of

the

Fundrs contribution

shaLL be equal

ta

?0%

of

the

investment

cost; it

may

not,

however, exceed 50%

of

the

aid

granted

to

each

project

by

the

publ'ic

authorities

under

a

regionaL

aid

schemd'(the remainder

of

the

Line

i

s

deIeted) .

in

the

second indent take

out

the

words

"It

shatt

amount to

zil

000 ECU

per

job

created."

The ner,r

text

becornes:

"

In

the

case

of

the

services sector and

the

craft

sector,

the

Fundrs

contribution

wiLL be 5Vl

of

national

a'id."

repLace

the

fifth

indent by

the

fol.towing

text:

"The Fundrs

contribution

nust be additionaL

to

the

aid

qranted b

the national

pubLic authorit-!es

for

impLementing

the

investment proj-ect wh'i

Lst

respecting competit'i on ruLes.

In

aLL cases, the

financiat effqrt

_!y

the Flernben

State

i.n

the

releYant region must be

-T-increased by

the

amount

of

Community assistance."

g2

_repLace"5

_m'ittion

_Ecu"by"7 rni LLion ECU"'in paragraph 2.

ArticIe

13

the

former

point (e)

becomes

point

(g)

add under new

point (e)

the

foLlowing

text:

e) "the

etaboration

of projects

coverir'lg several regions which

are

not

necessarrLy adlacent and beLong

to difterent

lvlember Statesbut wTiah have a

3l

ArticLe 12

-

add as ne!il point

"f)

backwardness and

-6-(f)

the

foL lowinq

text:

irnb'aLances

arisinr

from

the

insuLan nature of

the

area

in

urhich

the

investment

project

is to

be

carried

out;"

g2-

_repLace"5 mi

Llion

ECU"by"

7

nitLion ECU'in Daraqra?h 2.

Article

14

Articl"e

15

g2-RepLace 5 miLLion ECU by 7 miLLion ECU

in

oaragraprhs

2,3

and 5.

After "the

nature

"the

name

of

the

anC Location

i nvestor" .

of

each

project"

add

the

words

ArticLe

16

Mod'i

fy

t he

text

as f o L tows :

"The Fund shalL

contribute

to

the

financinq

of

ooerations aimed at

exp[oitinq the locat

devetopment

potential

of

regions

eliqibte

for aid.

In

dornq

so, the

Fun.l sha

-.;-:;-

_of

thg pfggranlme conlracts and

the

integrated openations out

lined

in

articLe

29 and,

at

the

same

time,

operate indepEndentty.

1.

To

this

en.l.

the

Corrnissic;'r shaLL estabLish. throuqh an

imrlLement'i nq requLation Crawn uD accor

to

the

procedure set

out

in Articte

31, the

i'rrocedures

for

providinq

aid

to

smaI and

med'l um-s'l ze

rtakinos

in

the

ustri

a a.rri cuLtunaL an

craft

fietds

n

that

o

ruraL

recreation notabLy those

actions wh concenn:

(a)

_the

deveLopment

of

snatL and mediurn-sized

firms

through opening up access

fon

them on

the canital

market,

(b)

_financing

_the

_transfer

_of

technoLogy thror:gh c)peratinq a'i ds

for

agencies compi Linq and rJisseminat'i ng information on

product and technoLoqi

cal

innovatir:ns and

for

conductinq feasabi

lity

studies

and

nrojects permittinq

the

introduction

of

these 'i _nnovations

in

_{undertakincrs.}

I'lith the obiect

of

accordinq

preferential

treatment

to

investments

in

the industriaL,

craft

and

servjce sectors,

the

Fund

wiLt

reserve an amount equivalent

to

3%

of its

qLobal endownent

for

the

qrantigr

of

interest rate

subsidies,

fhese subsicJies appL

by the.European Investment Bank from

it's

own resources,

to

Communitv Loqns- from

the

New Community Investment

fon

the promotion

_of

investments,

Thev are

to criteria to

be defined bv

the

Commission.

-7-2.

1.,'i

th

the

same end'i

n

v'iew,

the

Fun'J

in

coLLaboration

,rit

tutes

responsibLe tor -qid

ffi

f inance

the

foLlor"rjlg types

of

aid

sc heme s :

(a) aid

for

sunveys which

witL

rnake

it

easier

to

i rlent

ify

the ss'ibi

Lities for

the

LocaL deveLo

t of

the

re ionaL zones

which might quaLify

for

fund assistance;

(b)

_aid

for. sectoraL and nanket

studies

with

a

view

to

providing

fuLLer information on-access

to

nationaL, Community arid

externaL markets and

to

encourage

the

disseminat'ion of

information concerning

the

findings

of

such stud'ies;

(c)

_aid

to

eas

ier

rrlrri e o .

increase

the effic'iency

of

un"Jertakings by nnaking

it

for

them

to

obtain

managetnent and organizationaL

this

aid

shatL cover

the

expenditure

ef

e6'lertakinqs

to

services provided by consuLtancy

firms

and bodies;

re L at'ing

(rJ)

_{starting-up aids}

to

fac'iLitate the

introduction

of

services to be usecl

jointLy

by two

or

more undentakings and covering in

part

operat.i ng expenditure

relating

to

the

common serv'i ces;

(e)

_aid

_to

promote more

effective

expLoitation

of

reg'ionaL

potentiaL

in

the

fieLd

of rural

tounism and reLated

to

a part

of

the

operating expenses

of

agencies respons'ibLe

for

the

promotion and coordinated management

of tourist

accommodation;

(f)

aid

for

setting

up LocaL

jnstitutes

of

appLied research to

further the

indisrenous deveLopment

of

the

negions

-3-

The Fund shaLL rrrovide assistance

for

the

reqionaL

or

LocaL

r,,t

prog me and rnaking

the

technica

authorities'in

workinq and making

the

technicaL and f inanciaL preparations

for,

and

in

i moLementinql, operations

that

might quaLify

for

Funcl assistance

in

the

framework

of

actions

described uncler

TitLes

III

and IV

of this

ReguLation, as weLL as in

improving

the

performance

of

the

agenc'ies caLLed on

to

fuLfiL

these

tasks."

6

1

-

arJd

to

paragraph

1

a new second indent

"Operations

for

which no _Payments have been

ma.te

lor

four

years and where no expLanation of the deLav has been

protl?eO by

the

Member State c-on_q!l!-9d_dlhjll-3 r od

to

be

ArticLe 25

have

not

been canried out.

-8-TITLE

IV

:

SPECIFIC COMMUNITY REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEASURES

ArticLe 27

S

2 -

modify as foLtows

the

text of

paragraph ?

"The measures

referred

to in this Title

may

differ in

whoLe or

in

part

from

the

measures neferred

to in Titte III.

They

shaLI be aimed

at

Community regions and zones particularLy affected:

either

by

certa'in

Community poLicies

or

by measures adopted

by

the

Community 'in

order

to

faci

titate

the

'impLementation

or

to

m'itigate

the

regional

consequences

of

these poticies;

or

by

recent,

serious probIems

_of

industriaI

dectine;

or serious probLems L i nked

to

the absence

of

equat

deve Lo on both si

sof

a

tront

er.

or

to

thei _r

situation

as a peri

_or

_{insuLar rejqlon,}

_or

_as a resuLt

of

depopuLation,

These measures may

not

have as

their

object

the

internaL reorganisation

of

decLining sectors

but

may, by estabLishing

neh, economic

activities

and

the

impLementation

of

new

technology, promote

the

creation

of empLoyment in

regions

or

areas experiencing di

fficuIties.

These measures shatt be financed

jointLy

by

the

Commun'ity and by

the

Member State

or

States concerned."

TITLE

V:

-9-GE.NERAL AND TINAL PROVISIONS

Chapte.r

2

:

0ther provjsio.ns

Artfcle

31 (a) t

-

add a neu

Article

31

h)

"The Commission shal.L make sure

that

account

is

taken

of

the

situation

and perspectives

for

femate emptoyrnent and the

different

age groups as

far

as

statistics

aLtou,

-

uhen draui

the

coordination i,nstruments

set

out

in

Articte

2

above and

in

particular

in

the

regionat deve[ rnent programnes and

the reports

on

thejr

impLementation;

in

the

_lgquests

for

assjstance

for

programmes and

inv€stfient projects;

in

the

Fund assistance decis'ions concerniS these appLicatjons;

as !,eLL as

in

the

drawing up

of tle

report

on t'he app

Artic[e

37: